- This topic has 19 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 2 months ago by .
-
Topic
-
We can describe chords as being open or closed. A closed chord is one where the notes are compact, usually all compressed within one octave. An open chord is one that has space between the notes, so that notes in the chord are doubled, or could be doubled in different octaves.
Close harmony is most commonly associated with Barbershop Quartets:
The presence of a Bass, Baritone and Two Tenors makes it best to arrange the chord voicing closely, and provides for a very rich sound.
Open harmony is much more common, and it tends to provide a more open, and airy sound:
On the guitar, we can play both types of harmony. For example, you can play a closed E triad on the 432 strings by playing 4th string, 2nd fret; 3rd string, 1st fret, and 2nd string, open. This is EG#B, a root position triad, in close harmony.
Now, drop the E an octave to the open 6th string, and raise the G# an octave to the first string fourth fret. So you are playing 6th open; 2nd open; 1st, fourth fret. This is also an E triad, but fairly open voicing. You could go further by playing the G# another octave higher at the 16th fret.
Deciding which strings to play when you are playing a chord can make a huge difference in the kind of sound you want to have. There will be more on this in later posts. For now, though, we will be dealing only with close chords.
INVERSIONS
If you remember, if we move the lower note of an interval up an octave, that is called inverting the interval. Thus, with the interval C to E, which is a major third, if we move the C up an octave, the inversion is a minor 6th.
Chords can also be inverted. This happens by taking the lowest note of the chord and raising it an octave. Thus if you have a major triad, CEG, the first inversion of this triad is EGC. The first inversion has the third in the bass. If we repeat the process, the second inversion is GCE. The second inversion has the fifth in the bass. If we repeat the process a third time, we are back to the root triad.
The same applies equally well for a minor triad. Take G minor, which is G Bb D. First inversion: Bb D G. Second inversion D G Bb. And for a diminished triad: take Edim – E G Bb. 1st inversion: G Bb E, 2nd inversion Bb E G.
The same idea does not apply well to augmented triads for a very simple reason. Take a C augmented triad: C E G#. If we invert this, we have E G# C. C is the same as a B#, and E G# B# is simply an E augmented triad. So, when we invert an augmented triad, we simply get another augmented triad. I suppose its possible to consider this an inversion, but I am not aware of any situation where people actually do this. So, for practical purposes, there is no such thing as an inverted augmented triad.
As with the root triads, there are a very limited number of ways to play the inverted triads on the guitar, and again they vary by string set. 654 and 543 triads will always have the same shapes. 432 and 321 triads will have their own shapes. This means that you will need to learn three shapes for each of the different triads.
The good news is that you already know them all; you just don’t know that you do. Take, for example a G barre chord on the third fret. The 543 strings are a second inversion triad, the 432 strings are a root position triad, and the 321 strings are a first inversion triad. You can try this with any barre chord that you know. If you don’t have a repeated octave in a three string set, then you have one of the triads. If the third is in the bass, then its first inversion. Fifth, then its second inversion.
I have attached a pdf of the shapes of each of the inverted triads. First line is Major 1st inversion, Second line is Minor 1st inversion, Third line is Major 2nd inversion, 4 fourth is minor 2nd inversion, fifth is diminished 1st inversion, and 2nd is diminished second inversion.
To give you a sense that all of this might be worthwhile, take a look at this video of Donald Fagen talking about and playing a bit of Chain Lightning, from the Can’t Buy a Thrill album. In his right hand, he is basically playing nothing but triads (mostly first inversion major triads to start). But they become interesting when moved against a bass note. Also, interesting to note that he translates at one point what he’s doing into “music nomenclature”, but its clearly not how he’s thinking about it. Lot’s of Steely Dan music works on this idea of moving triads over a bass that wouldn’t typically be considered “right.”
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.